Vail sees first property zoned to new community housing districts
Council members applaud the rezoning as it meets the intent of its new zone districts
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The Vail Town Council on Tuesday approved on first reading the rezoning of an East Vail property, making the 0.7-acre lot the first to join the town’s new community housing zone districts.
Earlier this year, the council formed three community housing zone districts to streamline the entitlement process and incentivize more private development of housing in Vail.
“I think this is really special,” said Council member Barry Davis. “The first CH-1 (Community Housing Zone District 1) that we’re going to see is someone doing the right thing. It’s just really great to see and I hope that this sets the tone for others to do the right thing.”
Creating opportunities for community housing
In January, the council approved the first new housing district by updating the existing zone district, making changes to the development review process and creating a second housing district, according to Jamie Miller, the town planner.
The effort leading to January was a collaboration between the Vail Local Housing Authority, the Vail community development department and Dominic Mauriello with the Mauriello Planning Group. Before seeking Town Council approval, it also went before the town’s Planning and Environmental Commission.
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In presenting the zoning and code changes to the council last December, Mauriello reported that “(the housing zone district is) one of the few zone districts where everything is basically a negotiation,” something that “makes everything very uncertain.”
The new zone districts — which created standardized metrics for development standards in the housing districts — removed the “uncertainty that exists today in the housing zone district,” Mauriello added at the time.
In June, housing zone districts one and two were renamed with “community housing” in their names to better reflect the town’s intent with the changes. At the same time, the town approved a third community housing zone district.
The June ordinance reinforces the reason for the name, which had come at the request of the council when it passed the initial ordinance in January. It states that the renaming and creation of the third district are meant to help the town achieve its goal of promoting community housing options for a “strong, high-quality and consistently available workforce.”
“The Community Housing-1 (CH-1) District is intended to provide adequate sites for employee housing which, because of the nature and characteristics of employee housing, cannot be adequately regulated by the development standards prescribed for other residential zone districts. This zone district allows flexibility to provide for the critical need for housing to serve local citizens and businesses, and to provide for the public welfare,” adds the ordinance.
Between Community Housing Districts 1, 2 and 3, the only difference is the allowed height of the building, with the first having the shortest allowance and the third having the tallest. All the other development standards — for things like permitted uses, setbacks, site coverage, density and more — are the same.
The first property in CH-1
On Tuesday, the first rezoning to one of these zone districts marked a milestone, demonstrating the zone districts are doing what was intended.
“I know you’ve had this property for a little while. … I’m excited that this is going to be where there’s an opportunity to have a local, community impact,” said Mayor Travis Coggin.
The East Vail property in question was annexed into the town in 1974 and then rezoned in 1977 to “residential cluster” from the “low-density multiple family” zone district.
“Over the years, there have actually been a few homes that have been approved on the site, but they were never built,” said Allison Kent with the Mauriello Planning Group, representing the owner on Tuesday.
“This is just an amazing opportunity; it’s a vacant lot in East Vail with development potential for free-market, single-family or a duplex unit. It’s a private owner who is willing to do deed-restricted units instead. It’s located in an established local-oriented neighborhood and it’s served by the town of Vail bus,” Kent added.
By rezoning to community housing zone district 1 (or CH-1), the main differences are height — with CH-1 allowing “slightly more height” — as well as allowing development to occur on the 40% slopes, Kent said.
“In RC, you cannot construct on the 40% slopes. So, rezoning to CH-1 actually allows for greater development potential on the site,” Kent said, noting that previous development approvals on the site had to seek variances to do so.
“The purpose of CH-1 is to allow flexibility to provide for the critical need for housing,” Kent added. “The RC zone district would generally permit low-density, free-market residential development. That would allow for two dwelling units and 5,600 square feet of GRFA. That’s a lot of free-market development that could occur on that site. Recognizing that now, it would be deed-restricted housing, I think is a huge benefit and shows how conditions have changed.”
In July, Vail’s Planning and Environmental Commission unanimously approved a recommendation to the council for the rezoning, determining it met all the criteria to do so. Kent said the PEC meeting “was the first time I have ever had planning commissioner members fight to make the motion to approve … everybody was very positive.”
After the Town Council followed the commission’s recommendation with unanimous approval on Tuesday, the rezoning will still need to be approved on second reading before it’s official.
